4/20 protest may lack spark in Vancouver

Last year’s annual 4/20 protest came during a year of major milestones for pro-pot lobbyists.

The City of Vancouver had just announced plans to regulate dispensaries in defiance of opposition from Ottawa, the Supreme Court said medical marijuana users could take the drug any way they choose, and the Liberal Party of Canada took office with a pledge to legalize weed.

While those recent highs are still fresh in the minds of pot activists like Jodie Emery, this year’s protest could be a (relatively) more sober affair with pot shops across the city facing closure, no change in the federal pot regime in sight and police continuing to enforce marijuana laws.

“The last few years were so successful. Things were moving along really well,” Emery said in a recent interview.

“When the Liberals got elected, a lot of us felt (a sense of accomplishment). We did sign up (party) members, we did help get them in, and clearly legalization was a hot topic that didn’t hurt them in any way.”

But Emery claims that in the months since the election, it has seemed the government is more interested in meeting with pot prohibitionists than activists and industry leaders.

Meanwhile, public money continues to be spent on enforcing laws in relation to the production, trafficking and possession of marijuana, she noted.

“Every day, police are still going after Canadians for pot, and those same Canadians are expected to buy it legally a year or two from now. It’s hypocritical and it’s wasteful, and I don’t know if it’s just ignorance or if it’s malicious. I don’t know what this government’s goal is, but for us activists, watching the last few months, we are concerned.”

Marijuana is still a controlled drug and until parliament has enacted new legislation, pot laws remain in force and should be obeyed, said Ian McLeod, a spokesman for the federal justice ministry.

The government plans to design a system of strict regulation with strong sanctions for those who sell outside that system to keep pot “out of the hands of children, and the profits out of the hands of criminals,” McLeod said.

“We will take the time that is necessary to get this right,” he said, adding that the next step for the ministry is to launch a task force seeking advice from health, law enforcement and public safety experts on how legalization should take place.

Changing Canada’s pot laws will demand municipal, provincial and federal cooperation and international manoeuvring, said Neil Boyd, director of Simon Fraser University’s School of Criminology.

“I think they’re recognizing that if they want to change the law, it’s very complex,” Boyd said. In the meantime, the country is in a period of transition and a “situation not unlike the prohibition of alcohol.”

Boyd said there are appropriate ways in which police might want to act against marijuana before a new pot regime is in place, but criminally charging people is not one of them. Rather, a reasonable form of regulation such as confiscation or a ticket in the case of someone caught smoking in a public place would be more fitting, he said.

But calls to stop all forms of prosecution of marijuana were unreasonable, Boyd added, noting that offences like trafficking are a different matter. “The whole point is to take it out of the hands of the black market. You don’t want to sort of give a green light to the black market.”

Last year, 132 of Vancouver’s pot dispensaries were ordered to shut down because they did not meet the city’s zoning requirements. Of the 62 shops that appealed the order, 13 have been heard by the city’s board of variance and two were successful. The city inspects dispensaries regularly and can use fines and legal action to enforce its regulations, said Jag Sandhu, a city spokesman.

Emery said many issues remain for pro-marijuana advocates and “we need to make sure we don’t sit back and let our former opponents — or I guess they’re still our opponents — dictate policy.

“While we celebrate all the good things, we have to remember that it’s still illegal and for the most part, nothing has changed.”

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Market to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.